Tuesday, March 31, 2009

In 2008, the IRA movie awards were swept to an unprecedented degree by the terrific, acclaimed but generally overlooked film The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. In 2009, a strong lineup of well-regarded movies and a desire to avoid another sweep guaranteed that the IRA awards were spread among a range of films from blockbusters like The Dark Knight to tiny flicks like Ballast and Shotgun Stories.

The IRAs is an annual get-together of movie buffs that was launched by college friends 33 years ago as a counter to the more mundane Oscars. These are film fanatics who go to Film Forum and Anthology Archives and film festivals throughout America and around the world. Members have won major Oscars and worked on Oscar-winning Best Picture winners, they've written acclaimed and best-selling Hollywood biographies like Ed Sikov'sDark Victory: The Life Of Bette Davis, the definitive Oscar book (indeed the definitive awards book) Inside Oscar, by Mason Wiley & Damien Bona; worked at major magazines and newspapers covering the industry; worked at major studios and in the independent film industry or in my case just schlepped around as a freelancer and watched a lot of movies year in and year out. In other words, IRA members range from major players to avid fans.

So here are this year's winners followed by the balloting as it happened with all the top vote-getters listed and the Bronx cheers at the end of Sominex and Dramamine movies (those that put us to sleep or made us sick) and Mechanical Actor and Actress. Watch the Best Picture honorees or the winners from past years (listed at the bottom) and you'll have a great overview of cinema in the past three decades.

1975Best Picture: Barry LyndonBest Director: Claude Chabrol for La Rupture and Just Before NightfallBest Actor: Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s NestBest Actress: Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn’t Live Here AnymoreBest Supporting Actor: François Perrier in Just Before NightfallBest Supporting Actress: Blythe Danner in Hearts Of The WestBest Screenplay: Tom Stoppard and Thomas Wiseman for The Romantic EnglishwomanBest Cinematography: John Alcott for Barry Lyndon

1976Best Picture: (tie) Lipstick, and The Marquise Of OBest Director: Eric Rohmer for The Marquise Of OBest Actor: Sean Connery in Robin And MarianBest Actress: Sissy Spacek in CarrieBest Supporting Actor: Jason Robards in All The President’s MenBest Supporting Actress: Anne Bancroft in LipstickBest Screenplay: Alain Tanner and John Berger for Jonah Who Will Be 25 In The Year 2000Best Cinematography: Nestor Almendros for The Marquise Of O

1984Best Picture: (tie) L’Argent and Once Upon A Time In AmericaBest Director: Sergio Leone for Once Upon A Time In AmericaBest Actor: Clint Eastwood in TightropeBest Actress: Helen Mirren in CalBest Supporting Actor: Jean-Luc Godard in First Name: CarmenBest Supporting Actress: Christine Lahti in Swing ShiftBest Screenplay: Franco Arcalli, Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Franco Ferrini, Sergio Leone, Enrico Medioli for Once Upon A Time In AmericaBest Cinematography: Robby Müller for Paris Texas and Repo ManBest Music: Ennio Morricone for Once Upon A Time In AmericaBest Production Design: James Singelis for Once Upon A Time In AmericaBest Costume Design: Mic Cheminal for Entre Nous

1993Best Picture: Six Degrees Of SeparationBest Director: Nancy Savoca for Household SaintsBest Actor: Dennis Quaid in Flesh And BoneBest Actress: Stockard Channing in Six Degrees Of SeparationBest Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in A Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?Best Supporting Actress: Regina Tourney in Like Water For ChocolateBest Screenplay: Mike Leigh for NakedBest Cinematography: Michael Balhaus for The Age Of InnocenceBest Music: Elmer Bernstein for The Age Of Innocence and The Cemetery ClubBest Production Design: Dante Ferretti for The Age Of InnocenceBest Costume Design: Gabriella Pescucci for The Age Of InnocenceSominex Award: Heaven And EarthDramamine Award: Falling DownMechanical Actor: Richard Gere in SommersbyMechanical Actress: Madonna in Body Of Evidence

1999Best Picture: Fight ClubBest Director: (tie) David Fincher for Fight Club and Spike Jonze for Being John MalkovichBest Actor: Terence Stamp in The LimeyBest Actress: (tie) Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut and Hillary Swank in Boys Don’t CryBest Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Magnolia and The Talented Mr. RipleyBest Supporting Actress: Catherine Keener in Being John MalkovichBest Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for ElectionBest Cinematography: Robert Richardson for Bringing Out The Dead and Snow Falling On CedarsBest Music: Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman for South Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutBest Production Design: Owen Paterson for The MatrixBest Costume Design: Michael Kaplan for Fight ClubSominex Award: The World Is Not EnoughDramamine Award: The Green MileMechanical Actor: Kevin Spacey in American BeautyMechanical Actress: Annette Bening in American Beauty

2000Best Picture: L’ HumaniteBest Director: (tie) Terence Davies for The House Of Mirth and Jim Jarmusch for Ghost Dog: Way Of The SamuraiBest Actor: Forrest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: Way Of The SamuraiBest Actress: (tie) Severine Caneele in L’ Humanite and Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonBest Supporting Actor: Jack Black in High Fidelity and Jesus’s SonBest Supporting Actress: Lupe Ontiveros in Chuck And BuckBest Screenplay: Kenneth Lonnergan for You Can Count On MeBest Cinematography: Remi Adefarasin for The House Of MirthBest Music: RZA for Ghost Dog: Way Of The SamuraiBest Production Design: Gideon Ponte for American Psycho and HamletBest Costume Design: Monica Howe for The House Of MirthSominex Award: Mission Impossible 2Dramamine Award: The Replacements (aka The Scabs)Mechanical Actor: Ian Holm in Joe Gould’s SecretMechanical Actress: Charlize Theron in Reindeer Games

2003Best Picture: DecasiaBest Director: Bill Morrison for DecasiaBest Actor: Johnny Depp in Pirates Of The CaribbeanBest Actress: Hope Davis in American Splendor and The Secret Lives Of DentistsBest Supporting Actor: Max Pirkis in Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The WorldBest Supporting Actress: Ludivine Sagnier in Swimming PoolBest Screenplay: Shari Springer Bergman and Robert Pulcini for American SplendorBest Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky for SpiderBest Music: Michael Gordon for DecasiaBest Production Design: Andrew Laws for Down With LoveBest Costume Design: Daniel Orlandi for Down With LoveSominex Award:Dramamine Award: In My SkinMechanical Actor: Anthony Hopkins in The Human StainMechanical Actress: Nicole Kidman in The Human Stain

2004Best Picture: KinseyBest Director: Bill Condon for KinseyBest Actor: Ethan Hawke in Before SunsetBest Actress: Laura Linney in Kinsey and P.S.Best Supporting Actor: Peter Sarsgaard in KinseyBest Supporting Actress: Kirsten Dunst in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless MindBest Screenplay: Bill Condon for KinseyBest Cinematography: Christopher Doyle for Hero, Last Life In The Universe and Days Of Being WildBest Music: Alberto Iglesias for Bad EducationBest Production Design: Dante Ferretti for The AviatorBest Costume Design: Emi Wada for Hero and House Of The Flying DaggersSominex Award: The VillageDramamine Award: The Passion Of The ChristMechanical Actor: Cate Blanchett in The AviatorMechanical Actress: Anthony Hopkins in Alexander

2007Best Picture: The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert FordBest Director: Andrew Dominik for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert FordBest Actor: Casey Affleck in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Gone Baby GoneBest Actress: Marina Hands in Lady ChatterleyBest Supporting Actor: Paul Schneider in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Lars And The Real GirlBest Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan in Gone Baby GoneBest Screenplay: Corneliu Porumboiu for 12:08 East Of BucharestBest Cinematography: Roger Deakins for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, In The Valley Of Elah and No Country For Old MenBest Production Design: Patricia Norris for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert FordBest Music: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert FordBest Costume Design: Patricia Norris for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert FordSominex Award: Youth Without YouthDramamine Award: Before The Devil Knows You’re DeadMechanical Actor: John Travolta in HairsprayMechanical Actress: Meryl Streep in Lions For Lambs and Rendition

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

I did two articles for the Daily News about the Jonas Brothers 3D movie. But I could only find the sidebar online: it's here. To correct some of the fact errors stated or implied in the sidebar -- Taylor Swift is not a Disney protege, th JoBros did a Times Square concert for fans at Planet Hollywood, not ESPNZone (even though Disney owns ESPN), the TV series J.O.N.A.S. was originally about pop stars doubling as spies but is now just a straightforward day in the life of teen idols with no spying (except by fans hoping to catch a peek at them), the Miley Cyrus movie grossed more than $30 million on its opening weekend and about $65 million overall, and Lovato's album isn't being reissued as such -- they're just being out a new edition with a few extra songs and a DVD which is very typical for pop albums these days. Whew!

More recently, I stirred up a lot of chat at Huffington with my post about a book industry innovation: Thomas Nelson publishing who is going to make ebook and audio book versions of select titles available for free to anyone who buys the hardcover version, something I've been championing for ages now.